Student Prompts

"If you want me to let you go, you have to beat me in a duel," the water magician sneered.

Shadow scoffed under his breath, but he still wouldn't go to the edge of the cage to look at the man. We hung in a large bird cage about ten to twenty feet over the ground, but I knew he'd still freak out if was only a five foot drop. The rest of the room had soaring architecture and stained glass windows portraying sweeping rivers and silvery swamps. It would have been a lot more stunning if they weren't trapped though, up hanging with the rest of the rich magician's waterfowl.

"Why do we have to fight?" I called down to the man.

He brushed a piece of invisible lint off his feathery suit. "Because I know you can't beat me, and the queen will pay high price for you two." The man snapped his fingers, and the cage wobbled as it sunk to the checkered ground.

Shadow stood up and whisked toward the bars, glaring at the man. "If you want to fight me with that confidence, you're crazy."

"No, no, no," the man smiled, "I don't want to fight you. I meant her," he pointed at me, and I gulped. I was never much good at combat.

"Absolutely not," Shadow growled, and I put my hand on his shoulder, taking in a large, shaking breath for courage.

"I can do it," I insisted. "I'll be fine, and I'll get us out of here in a jiffy," I gave him a confident smile.

He looked at me, conflicted. But after a moment he sighed, and warned me to be careful. I nodded.

"Alright then, let's get this party started!" the magician whooped, and formed a spiked club out of water. I'd seen similar tricks, and they seemed easy to beat at first sight, but it was exactly the opposite. They shifted the density of the water at a moments notice, making it difficult and frustrating to fight.

Shadow opened his mouth to whisper about ways to counter the magician, but a gag of water came out of nowhere. He glared at the man, who smugly grinned back. He quickly let me out of the cage, careful not to let my friend out. I glanced around for high ground, but the only thing were the cages.

The one I'd been in shot up toward the vaulted ceiling, violently shaking on its chain as it stopped.

"Now that there's no more distractions, let us begin," the magician bowed politely. I formed a sweeping bow out of light in return, trying to focus on the duel rather than all the things that could go wrong. Wielding my weapon, I stayed in my battle stance.

I readied a gleaming arrow, pulling the bowstring tight so it grazed my cheek. I fired and the man lunged, blocking the arrow with his club. It disappeared into steam as the man swung at me. I dropped and rolled, narrowly dodging the blow. Running to get distance, I knocked another arrow and aimed for his right shoulder. If I could just knock him down . . .

I glanced up at the large bird cage, my eyes locking with Shadow's. He pointed at something behind me. The window! I knocked an arrow and shot it at the stained glass before the magician could react. The arrow of light splintered into a brilliant array of colors, showering the room in white light. I was the only one who could see through my magic. I lunged toward the man, knocking him down with my bow and shoving it at his throat. The light cleared away, and the man opened his eyes and grimaced.

"If I was a dishonest man, you'd be having a lot more trouble today," he sighed and snapped his fingers. The birdcage lowered and opened again. Shadow stumbled out, his gag of water gone. I started toward the door, and Shadow caught up to me after knocking the man out swiftly. We always did it, as a safety precaution, though I didn't like it.

"You did good," Shadow praised me. I smiled and elbowed him.

"I told you I could do it."

He laughed, and we headed out the door.